Shoe shining last



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INVENTOR Herman Il'. Sawfse BYQQQMQM 'gif/wl A'rroRNEYs.

Patented May 24, 1932 yUNiTED STATES HERMAN E. SCHULSE, F BAYONNE, NEW J'ESEY, ASSIGNOR TO II.` E. SCI-IULSE, INC.,

' A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK'Y- SHOE SHININ G- LAST Application filed .Tune 5.

The presentinvention is concernedv with the provision of a shoe supporting fixture which may be used for making small repairs on shoes, applying laces, etc., but which is primarily intended as a last for supporting shoeswhile they are being shined. It is embodied in a light fixture adapted to be conveniently attached to any suitable support, such for instance as a wall, and will serveto firmly supporta shoe and effectively reinforce and back the shoe toe and counter, While the shoe is being operated upon.

An object of the invention is to provide a device of the 'above type which consists of only a few light castings Lthat may be readily assembled and conveniently set for universal use with shoes of any and all sizes.v

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the character noted above upon which a shoe maybe readily andseourely emplaced and from which it may be readilyv removed. l

Another object of the inventionis to provide a shoe shining device adapted to be mounted on a wall or other support and being so constructed that it may be readily disengaged from its support without the use of tools when it is desired to conserve space by removing the projecting arm from the Wall. Y l

To accomplish these results I utilize for the shoe supporting means a two-part skeleton last including-an arm adaptedlto'be secured at one endV to a suitable support; arelatively stationary member at the free endV of the arm ada ted to enter the toe of the shoe and a lever preferably pivoted in the arm) carrying at its lower end a last memberfor the counter. I Vhen the shoe is placed onthe forward last, the lever (preferably gravitationally) automatically swings to substantially correct positon for engaging the movable last section with the inside of the shoe counter. Thus little or no manipulation of the lever is required. With the shoe in place the lever may be readily slightly shifted to move it snugly against the counter and then locked against swinging movement.

Preferably the means for rigidly mounting the arm includes a wall bracket and the arm 1928. Serial N0. 282,967.

at one end is shaped for ready firm emplacement in or removal from the bracket without the use of tools. Thuswhen not required for use the projecting y'arm'niay be readily removed from the bracketand considerable space is then conserved." j

Other and more general objects ofthe invention are to provide a shoe shining last of simple practical construction which will be' rugged, durable and efficient in use and which is well suited to the requirements fofeco`Y nomical manufacture, and `convenient installation and manipulation. l l/Vit'h the above noted and other objects `in view, the inventionconsists-ofcertain novel features of construction and combination and arrangements Y of parts which will be more fully hereinafter described andpointed out in the claims. 1 The invention may be more fully understood from the following descriptionin connectio-n with the accompanying drawings wherein: l j Fig. l is a perspective View showing a device embodying thev invention mounted in its wall bracket, and illustrating in dotted lines the position of a shoe thereon. f y Fig. 2 is 'a' longitudnal vertical sectional View through the device. i

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional: detail on the line 3;-3 of'Fig. 2.4 f i Fig. 4 is an enlarged transverse sectional detail on the line l-l of Fig. 2 and j f Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 5 5.' of Fig. 2. 85L

The device consists essentially `of an arm l0 preferably of generally arched form, one end of which is removably mounted in a wall bracket ll.` The otherend of the armVlO is shaped to^cleine'a"last section'12 designed 9o f to enter the toe of a shoeland with 'which an-V adaptor 18 maybe conveniently engaged. Pivotally'mounted at thev intermediate por.- tion of the arm l() is'a lever 14,"the upper end of which constitutes a handle land the lower end of which is shaped atl 16 to form a counter. last section to fit within the 'heel' portion ofthe shoe and Ynormally held by gravity in the position of Fig. 2. This is'- substantiallythe position in which it willv normally' engage a shoecounter. Thus when a shoe 17is emplaced on the forward last 12 or over the adaptor 13 the last section 16 which has been previously moved forward by pushing the handle 15 rearwardly will act to move back against the shoe counter in which position the fle-ver handle after lbeing pulled forward may be locked againstmovement in any suitable manner as by tightenin-g the-binding thumbscrew 18.

It may be noted that this return :movement of the lever is accomplished for the most part by gravity as the handle is vreleased and after the shoe has been emplaced on the last 12 or adaptor 13 the rear last section 16 swings .to substantially correct position to fit anaver-age sized shoe by its own weight, after which but a slight manual adjustment is Ynecessary before turning the thumb screw. Preferably the bracket 11, the arm 10, and the lever 14 comprise three separate castings of light metal..

, The bracket 11 is alongitudinally 4tapering plate having a suitable number of countersunk-openings 20 therein for the reception of attach-ing screws 21 and adapted to be screwed flat against the wall 19. Integral strengthening webs or flanges may project forward from `the side edges of the plate, these flanges following such edges and thus convergingtowards the lplate bottom.

:Sets of undercut lugs 23, 24 are provided at the upper `end and lower end of the webs 22. The beveled undercut inner faces of these two sets Vof lugs also converge towards the .bottom .of `the plate 11 so that an attaching-plate 25 integral with the arm 10 may be conveniently slid into the bracket -11 and wedged in place between the lugs. The bevelled edges 26lof the tapering plate 25 dovetail with the undercut lugs 23. Preferably as the plate 25 rides down into place between the pair of lugs 23, 24 it-does notcontact with the body of the plate 11Y but 'rides on small .bearin projections 27, 28 arranged immediately a ove the respective lugs 23, 24. By using these vprojections and machining them, the necessity fo-r machining the .entire face of the plate iis avoided and `the-only machining necessary is to smooth down the projections 27, 28 and the enga-ging faces of the lugs 2li-and `the plate 25.

A rm 10 and plate 25 .form parts of the same casting, their union being reinforcedby substantial strengthening and stiifening webs 29. These webs projecting downwardly from the-top of the arm 10 extendsubstantially through the entire length of the arched arm and .are spaced .to form a channel inthe bottom of .the arm.

Near its middle, the arm 10 widens out and defines va pair of spaced, approximately circular substantial :plates 30. These plates lare separated b y averticalslot 31 in `:the arm and serve to integrally connect t-he forward last section 12 of the arm with the rear plate bearing section thereof. The inner faces of the bearing plates 31 provide bearing surfaces for the enlarged fulcrum portion 32 of the lever 14 which extends through slot 31 between bearing plates 30. .A rivet 33' passed centrally through bearing plates 30 and through enlargement 32 serves as the fulcrum yof the lever. The enlarged intermediate por-y tion of the lever -also provides va surfaceto be member 12 may be substantially conventional.

- Preferably at a point well inward from its end the last section v12 is provided with a central slot 34 through which the-,offset tail piece 35 oftheadaptor k13 may Ybe, passed. This adaptor is o-f proper longitudinal curvature to conveniently rest on .and embrace the last 12. The adaptor may be of any conventional or convenient configuration, although the last and-adaptor are preferably so designed that ypractically any type of womens shoe lmaybe mounted onthe last andv any -type of mens yshoe mounted on .thev

adaptor. rThe swinging movement vof the last section 16 is principally relied on to compensate for differences in the lengths of the various shoes to loe-worked upon.

v Near its tip the adaptor is provided with .'a;

depending lug 36to abut the tip of the last section o 12 Vand limit sliding movement of the adaptor on the last. rlhe tail piece 35 on the other hand lies within the channel of the last and'holds lthe adaptor against rocking movement when the pressure ofa shiningcloth or brush is applied to the shoe.

The operation of the device is substantially. as follows: A

Y Bracket 11 maybe conveniently screwed` to 'any suitable support such as afwall ,or av shoe shining stand, and the arm 10 may be- Y readily attached tothe bracket by simply sliding ythe plate 25 down between the lugs 23. The adaptor islapplied lto the last .12 by sim/ply inserting tail-piece 35 through the slot 34 and permitting the adaptor todrop to itsv normal position in which it straddles and embraces the last. f

To yapply the shoe, lever handle 15 is pulled rearward-ly throwing ythe member 16 forwardly. The .shoe is ,slippedover the adaptor 13 and when the handle f15is releasedthe counter last section 1.6 will swing rearwardly to substantially the proper position. With most shoes only slight manual movement of the lever 14 is necessary to swing the member 16 firmly against the counter of the shoe prior to tightening the thumb screw 18.

After the shoe has been shined a slight turn of the screw 18 releases the lever and permits the shoe to be readily withdrawn.

Due to the fact that the arm 10 may be readily connected to its supporting bracket by merely lifting it up out of the bracket7 the device is well adapted for use in locations where permanent fixtures occupy an undesirably large amount of space. The present device may be set np in a moment and readily detached and moved out of the way when not in use.

lVhen a shoe is in place on the last and being operated upon, the pressures and strains transmitted through the work to the arm 10 are almost entirely downward and forward pressures induced by the polishing rag or brush on the toe and counter of the shoe. Thus such pressures have no tendency to dislodge the arm from the wall bracket. The downward pressures in fact tend to more firmly am the plate 25 into the bracket.

The means for limiting the range of swinging movement of the lever and consequently the range of adjustment of the last section 16 is the engagement of the lower section of the lever with the downwardly extending forward section 12 of arm 10 as the handle 15 is pulled rearward and the engagement of the intermediate portion of the lever with the forward wall of slot 31 as the handle is pulled forward.

It will thus be seen that there is herein described a device in which the several features of this invention are embodied and which device in its action attains the various objects of the invention and is well suited to meet the requirements of practical use.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. As a new article of manufacture a shoe shining last including a relatively iiXed arm, the free end of which constitutes the toe engaging portion of the last, means movably connected to said arm constituting the counter engaging portion of the last, said toe last portion of the arm being of curved shape in cross section and having an opening therein adapted to anchor a curved adaptor seating on and embracing the said toe last portion.v

2.,.As a new-article lof manufacture a shoe shining last including a relatively Xed arm Vthe vfree=end of vwhich constitutes the toeV engaging portion of the last, aV lever pivotally connected on a yliXed pivot to the arm, the free end of said lever being shaped to constitute the counter .engaging portion of the' lever and walls of said slot being enlarged to j provide substantial cooperating bea-ring surfaces for the movement of the lever.

4. As a new article of manufacture a shoe shining last including a relatively fixed arm, the free end of which constitutes the toe engagingportion of the last, a lever pivotally connected to the arm, the free end of said lever constituting the counter engaging portion'of the last, said arm being vertically slotted Vat its intermediate portion, the lever being fulcrumed in said slot, the lever and walls'of said slot providing substantial cooperating bearing surfaces for the movement ofthe v4lever and a bindinglscrew working through one wall of the slot and engaging said lever. j

5. As a new article of manufacture a shoe shining last-including a relatively fixed arm, the free end of whichfconstitutes the toe engaging portion of the last, a lever pivotally connected Aintermediate its ends to the arm for free swinging movement throughout a substantial range, one end of said lever constituting .the counter engaging portion of thev last, said arm being vertically slotted at its intermediate portion :and the lever being fulcrumed in said slot, the end wall` of the slot limiting the movement of the lever in one direction and the arm adjacent the toe last section limiting the movement of the lever in the opposite direction.

6. As a new article of manufacture a shoe shining last including a relatively fixed arm, the free end of which constitutes the tOe engaging portion of the last, a lever pivotally connected intermediate its ends to the arm, one end of said lever constituting the counter engaging portion of the last, said arm being vertically slotted atits intermediate portion, the lever being fulcrumed in said slot, said arm being of generally channeled formation throughout its length, the slot intersecting ing of increased width adjacent the region of the slot to strengthen the :pivotal connection.

Y 7. As a new article of manufacture ashoe shining last including a relatively fixed arm, the free end of which constitutes the toe engaging portion of the last, a lever pivotally Vconnected to the arm, one end of said lever constituting the counter engaging portion of the last, a wall bracket including guideways, said arm including a plate portion at one end sliding in said guideways, said guideways including pairs of spaced lugs and said wall bracket comprising a substantially Hat casting formed with machined projections on which the plate portion rides.

8. As a new article of manufacture an adaptor for shoe shining lasts comprising a longitudinal-ly bowed transversely curved member of tapering shape adapted to fit within the toe of a shoe and including at its rear v edge an offset hook portion disposed substan vtially parallel with the `main aXis of said member, and .adapted to engage in a slot in thelast.

9. As a new article. of manufacture an adaptor for shoe shining lasts comprising a longitudinally bowed transversely curved member of tapering shape adapted to fit within the toe of a shoe, including at its rear edge an offset hook portion disposed substantially parallel with the main axis of said member, and. adapted to engage in a slot in the last and including near its tip a depending lug on its underfaceadapted to abut the tip of thevlast.

10. As a new article of manufacture, a shoe shining last including an arm, one end of.

which is suitably shaped to engage the inside of the toe portion of a shoe, anvadaptor 'likewise shaped to engage the inside of the toe of a shoe and to be mounted upon said end of the armot the last, said arm and said portion having means to retain the adaptor in place, both the adaptor and said end of the arm having a form corresponding to the inside of the toe portion of a shoe for substantially illing said toe portion when the shoe is put on said last. i

Signed at New York, in the county ofrNeW York and State of New York, this 2ndv day of June, A. D. 1928.-

HERMAN E. SGHULSE.

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